Hitmen Come Back to Beat Giants in OT
February 4, 2017 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Vancouver Giants News Release
Vancouver, B.C. - Matteo Gennaro scored two goals, including to overtime winner, to lead the Calgary Hitmen to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over the Vancouver Giants on Friday night at the Langley Events Centre. Owen Hardy, Johnny Wesley and Ty Ronning scored for the Giants.
Hardy opened the scoring at 2:27 of the first period, banking a puck off Calgary goalie Trevor Martin and into the net from below the goal line. Wesley beat Martin on a backhand shot from the slot just 24 seconds later to give Vancouver a 2-0 lead. The Giants out shot Calgary 17-5 in the first period.
Gennaro got Calgary on the board in the middle frame, firing a snap shot past Vancouver goaltender Ryan Kubic from off the rush. Ronning restored Vancouver's two-goal lead when he deposited the puck past Martin with a blistering wrist shot from the left wing before Tristen Nielsen pulled the Hitmen back to within one goal, bagging his first marker of the season later in the period.
Vancouver Canucks prospect Jakob Stukel tied the game with a power play goal less than a minute into the third period, and neither team could score a go-ahead goal for the rest of the stanza.
Gennaro ended the game 1:09 into overtime, scoring on his own rebound by beating Kubic over the shoulder from the bottom of the right circle.
Kubic made 28 saves on 32 shots. Vancouver fired 34 pucks at Martin in the Calgary crease. The Giants went 0-for-3 on the power play.
The G-Men will return to action on Saturday night when they visit the Everett Silvertips. Puck drop is slated for 7:05pm from the XFINITY Arena.
Vancouver's next home game will be on Saturday, February 11th, against the Kelowna Rockets at 7:00pm. For tickets, click here or call 604.4.GIANTS (604.444.2687).
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